


Stuck

by PastelCryptids



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bodyguard Romance, F/F, I am going to fill this fandom with lesbians, Pining Tanith, She doesn't realize it but she is pining, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 10:47:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20655980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelCryptids/pseuds/PastelCryptids
Summary: Tanith Low is given a job she'd prefer not to do.(Based on a prompt I was given on Tumblr!)





	Stuck

“You’re joking, right?” 

Tanith sat beside Valkyrie, slowly sinking into her couch. Valkyrie stared at the woman drowning in her couch and shrugged. “Nope, not at all. China said you owed her and this is the only way to appease her.”

Tanith groaned and sank deeper into the couch. “It was an accident!” she cried. “It was only one vase!” 

Valkyrie, Tanith, and Skulduggery were visiting China’s new collection of magical ancient tomes and objects. The woman had dedicated an entire section of the new Sanctuary just for her new collection. Valkyrie and Skulduggery were visiting to question China and give her information on a new case. Tanith joined along because she was bored. China quickly dismissed anything the duo said to her and dragged them through the Sanctuary. She opened a large door that revealed an already large collection of tomes and objects. The woman proudly walked them through each hallway. Tanith had zoned out the entire time. She had little care for historical objects. She’d lived through a lot of it already, what was the point of relearning it? Tanith strayed from the group and stared at a shelf filled with vases and other pottery. They all looked the same. She was saved from her boredom when Valkyrie called her name. Tanith turned quickly and her scabbard slammed into a vase. It felt as though the moment was in slow motion. Valkyrie ran to try to catch the vase. Tanith grabbed her scabbard tightly. China yelped and stared with wide, horrified eyes. Skulduggery stood there. As the vase shattered on the ground, China screamed. The woman’s piercing blue eyes stared into Tanith’s soul.

“ _ What did you do _ !?” The woman screamed.

Valkyrie began to apologize profusely. China ignored Valkyrie and pushed past her. “That was a  _ five-thousand-year-old  _ vase. Do you know how long it took me to acquire this?”

The only reason why Tanith survived that encounter was due to Skulduggery diffusing the situation. He shoved some cash at China and dragged Tanith out of the room. Valkyrie was still apologizing as she walked out of the room. Tanith was scolded the entire ride home. It was not fun.

Valkyrie sighed. “Yeah, sure. But there was also the time where you sneezed some of her faerie dust away or the time you somehow set an entire shelf of her’s on fire. Oh, and the time you threw a genuine crystal staff out of the window. And the time -”

Tanith waved her arms. “I get it, I get it. I’ve ruined a lot of China’s stuff. She kind of deserves it though…”

Valkyrie shook her head. “I won’t argue about that.” She grabbed Tanith’s shoulders and pulled the woman up from the couch. She turned Tanith and looked into her eyes.

“It’s only for three weeks, Tanith. After that, you will never have to interact with her again. Probably.”

Tanith rested her head on her hand. “You want me to do this, huh?”

Valkyrie nodded. Tanith smiled and ruffled Valkyrie’s hair. “You’re lucky I like you, Val.”

Tanith’s Prometheus level of punishment was being China’s bodyguard for three weeks. China wanted Tanith to do something else, probably something worse, but Valkyrie refused anything other than some form of a simple job. So, there Tanith was, being led by the Sanctuary’s billionth administrator. She was given a black uniform that she was forced to wear. It wasn’t leather, but it was comfortable enough. 

China sat on her throne with her legs crossed. She towered over Tanith and the administrator like a giant. She stood from her throne and gave a cold, unfeeling smile. “You’ve arrived,”

Tanith’s hands were behind her back, fiddling with the fabric of her uniform. “Yep,” She said, popping her  _ p _ .

The Supreme Mage walked down the steps of her throne. She stepped in front of Tanith. Despite being shorter than Tanith, China still had an aura of power. The woman cocked her head. “You should thank Valkyrie for your fair punishment.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I did.” Tanith cleared her throat and looked up at the ceiling. Staring at China’s face for too long was a horrible idea. She flipped her hair and tried to act casual. “So, am I supposed to be doing anything important right now?”

A smile grew across China’s face. “Oh, nothing serious right now. I’m about to access the Whispering, so you just need to stand here.” She gestured to the space beside her throne. China then grabbed Tanith’s scabbard. Tanith tried to protest, but China placed a finger over her lips. “The last time you had this tool of death on you, you destroyed one of my most important artifacts. I refuse to let you have this until I can trust you with it.”

Tanith groaned in annoyance but allowed China to have it. She would prefer to survive at least one week with China.

Standing still was pure torture for Tanith. China was currently using the Whispering during a meeting. Her eyes were closed and her body was terrifyingly still. Tanith thought that if a small draft blew into the room, the woman would blow away. It was both a hilarious thought and an odd one.

It wasn’t a single minute when Tanith gave up on standing still and began to wander. The throne room wasn’t very interesting, so Tanith decided to mess with China’s throne. She climbed up the stairs and studied the intricate design of the throne. The marble was cold against her fingers. Her hand suddenly brushed against China’s and her breath hitched. The woman’s hand barely flinched at her touch. Tanith leaned in and studied the sigils on her hands. 

Each one was carefully carved to perfection. Tanith’s eyes wandered to her arms. The designs were asymmetrical, yet perfect. Her hand reached out and traced the swirls that ran up China’s arm. Her fingers traced up to China’s chin where the sigils suddenly stopped. Tanith pulled her hand away from China’s lips.

Tanith began to study China’s face. There was no doubt that China was one of the most beautiful women on Earth. Her bronze skin shown like gold against the sun. The sigils under her eyes complemented her face perfectly. Tanith gently traced her fingernail across the sigils. Bright blue eyes met Tanith’s green and brown eyes. Tanith’s face turned red and she pulled her hand away.

“What are you doing?” The woman asked.

Tanith held onto her wrist tightly. “Nothing,” she mumbled. “You were very still and I… was worried.”

China arched her eyebrow and stood. “Right, well, know that whenever I am accessing the Whispering, I won’t be aware of anything around me. No need to stand in my face.” She walked past Tanith and began to walk down the stairs. She turned and looked at Tanith. “Aren’t you coming?”

Tanith frowned. “I didn’t know I was supposed to follow you.”

China burst out laughing and clapped her hands. Her laugh was like a siren’s melody. Tanith liked it. The woman’s wide smile turned small. “You’re my bodyguard, are you not? You’re supposed to follow me.”

Tanith’s face turned red with embarrassment. “Of course,”

China turned around again and continued to walk down the stairs. “Come along now, it’s lunch and I prefer not to be late.”

The two walked through the halls of the Sanctuary. Tanith hadn’t been able to experience its full splendor. She stared in awe as they passed through each hall. Every few minutes, China would turn her head and chuckle at Tanith’s face. After traversing several flights of stairs, they reach a plain door. China taps a sigil on the wall and a soft click is heard. She opens the door and reveals a gorgeous greenhouse. Unlike China’s throne room, the sunlight in the greenhouse felt natural. The simple windows warmed her flesh and was calming. No mirrors were reflecting the rays of sun into Tanith’s eyes.

China sat at a black metal table, two plates of food rested on it. A bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries sat in the middle. China grabbed a fork and took a bite of the food on her plate. She swallowed her food and looked at Tanith. “Go on, eat. I didn’t order a second plate for no reason.”

“You want me to eat with you?”

“Do you want to starve?” China asked.

“Well, no. I just thought I would have to eat somewhere else.”

China smiled and shook her head. “No, most Sanctuary agents eat in their office. Since you don’t have one, I allow you to eat with me. For now, at least.”

Tanith bit her lip to fight a silly smile. She sat at the chair across from China. They ate in silence. Tanith stared out of the greenhouse window and watched the birds fly by. It was pure luck that it happened to be sunny that day. She was getting tired of all of the rain and clouds.

“May I admit something to you?”

Tanith turned to China, who was holding a strawberry with her fingertips. Tanith nodded.

“It was my idea for you to be my bodyguard. Silly, I know.”

Tanith frowned. “Really?” Out of all of the things she expected of China, she did not expect the woman to give such a merciful punishment.

“I was truly angry at you for destroying that vase. But I was more angry at myself for yelling at you. Out of all of the time we’ve spent together this century, we’ve just been bickering. Yes, we have fought together, but other than that? Nothing.”

“Oh…”

“What happened to us? We used to be so close.”

Tanith’s mind wandered to the past. China’s hands running through her wild, coily hair. Lips mingling and eyelashes fluttering. Tanith grabbed a strawberry and bit into it. Despite the sweet taste, she was not distracted.

“I’m being silly talking about all of this. You probably don’t want to talk about this nonsense, anyway.” China bit into her strawberry.

“No, no! It’s fine.”

China gave a sad smile and nodded. She stood and pushed her chair in. “Well, we better get back to work, yes? No need to spend our entire day talking about young love.”

Tanith smiled and stood beside China. The woman glanced at Tanith. “You can have your sword back soon, by the way. I just need to do something with it first.”

Tanith was slightly nervous about whatever China was going to do to her sword, but she decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. China tapped a sigil in the room and walked out of the door. She gave one last smile to Tanith before returning to her calm yet serious state. Tanith walked confidently. Maybe this bodyguard job wasn’t as awful as she thought it was going to be.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm desperate for some more wlw content in this fandom!!! 
> 
> [Tumblr](sombra-core.tumblr.com)


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